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Epiphone Zakk Wylde Signature Les Paul Custom

 

Epiphone Zakk Wylde Les Paul reviewed by The Man in the Jar

Features of the Epiphone Zakk Wylde Les Paul

Tuners - Gold, sealed Grovers. Solid, smooth and accurate.

Headstock - White bound black headstock with the classic "broken diamond" inlay and the Epiphone logo in Mother of Pearl. The truss rod cover in gold is engraved with the model name. The back of the headstock is finished in the same clotted cream colour as the concentric circles on the body and here we find a silhouette of Zakk Wylde himself. The cream finish does not extend down the neck. 

Nut - White plastic nut that is tidy and accurate. 

Neck - Three-piece hard maple with a natural finish. I suspect the natural feel was a specification of the original custom signature and it does feel nice and play extremely well. I wouldn't have quibbled had the cream finish extended the length of the neck, but I'm not Zakk Wylde.

Fretboard - Nice smooth, dark rosewood fretboard with traditional Les Paul block inlays, fast and very playable. 

Frets - Medium, well-polished frets allow for fast movement along the fretboard. Access to the upper frets is good once you get used to the thickness of the Les Paul body and heel.

Action - The factory set-up was good and the whole neck was fast and playable.

Body - Les Paul mahogany body with carved maple top, stepped pick-up surrounds accommodating the backward splay of the neck. All classic LP stuff. The mahogany lends this guitar a good weight but this is offset by its comfort and good balance on the strap. Bound edges add a touch of luxury to the whole thing. The concentric circular design is a bit mad to start with, but I ended up liking it a lot. It's centred on the bridge pickup and does compliment the voluptuous lines of the Les Paul body rather well.   

Bridge - Gold floating bridge with stop-tail. There's not much to be done to improve on this design on a Les Paul. 

Pickups - EMG-HZ pickups with matte black flat covers add a touch of moodiness to an otherwise flamboyant design.

Controls - Two volume and two tone controls with modern, black Gibson knobs that sit perfectly with the body finish. The selector is mounted, as expected, on the upper bout. On this model the switch moves up and down when the guitar is in the playing position..

Pickguard - The traditional Les Paul pickguard is absent on this model.

Strap-buttons - Adequate.

Output Jack - Set in square plastic plate on lower edge of body.

Finish - The finish was excellent. With an exacting paint design like this there's no room for sloppiness. The transition from natural maple to cream finish at both ends of the neck is visually abrupt but I could find no flaw in its application.

 

Sound of the Epiphone Zakk Wylde Les Paul

The EMGs promised much and delivered it all with power and aplomb. Once plugged up in a Line 6 I naturally went for the Marshall stack models, in particular the "1968 jumped Super Lead". Here could be found all the good old-fashioned rock sounds associated with the Les Paul. From here I ventured into the heavier "Rectifier" and "Extacy" models where the Zakk Wylde comfortably delivered the heavy metal goods.
Then I dropped to the "Jazz Clean" setting to see just how many tricks this pony has got. The bridge pickup revealed a sweetness that was perfect for bright arpeggio chord work. The neck pickup came through deep and mellow, lending itself to blues or anthemic, low string riffs.   

 

Overall Impressions of the Epiphone Zakk Wylde Les Paul

It's a fact of life that the signature on a signature guitar is going to be a factor in the buying decision. But in this case I think it holds less sway and even guitarists who don't like Zakk Wylde will find many things to like about his guitar. In fact if you're in the market for a mid-priced Les Paul, this is a must-try.
Personally I wonder how it would look with half-moon inlays on the fretboard and the addition of a standard black pickguard. How about it Zakk? 

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